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Can lab-grown algae and exotic foods help tackle hunger?
By AFP - May 25,2021 - Last updated at May 25,2021
Woman drinking green spirulina, superfood (Photo courtesy of prozeny.cz)
By Kelly Macnamara
Agence France-Presse
PARIS A sprinkle of mycoprotein in your burger? Cities dotted with photo-bioreactors growing algae? Mass farming of house fly maggots?
These are just some of the food innovations that researchers say will be crucial to combat malnutrition in the face of climate change and other system shocks.
With traditional food systems facing severe threats including extreme heat, unpredictable rainfall, pests and soil degradation researchers at the University of Cambridge say that it is time to totally reimagine the field.
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Researchers at the University of Cambridge say our future global food supply cannot be safeguarded by traditional approaches to improving food production. They suggest state-of-the-art, controlled-environment systems, producing novel foods, should be integrated into the food system to reduce vulnerability to environmental changes, pests and diseases. Their report is published today in the journal Nature Food.
The researchers say that global malnutrition could be eradicated by farming foods including spirulina, chlorella, larvae of insects such as the house fly, mycoprotein (protein derived from fungi), and macro-algae such as sugar kelp. These foods have already attracted interest as nutritious and more sustainable alternatives to traditional plant and animal-based foods.
Maggots and kelp must be on the menu to curb global malnutrition
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Maggots and kelp must be on the menu to curb global malnutrition
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In a study published in the journal
Nature Food, scientists from the University of Cambridge said that farming foods such as algae, which include spirulina and sugar kelp, the larvae of insects such as the house fly, and mycoprotein, which is protein derived from fungi, could help eradicate global malnutrition. These foods are seen as sustainable alternatives to traditional plant- and animal-based foods and can be grown at scale.
The researchers said that using foods like insects and algae as ingredients in the form of pasta, burgers and energy bars, rather than eating them whole, could help overcome consumers’ reservations.